Sharat Somashekara: Healthy Food For All

When Sharat noticed that Americans without access to affordable, healthy food didn't eat as well as his family, he decided to do his part to change that.

posted Oct 08, 2012

Sharat Somashekara grew up sprouting beans, pickling lemons, and making chutneys as part of his family’s healthy Indian food traditions. As he grew older, he noticed many Americans didn’t eat as well as his family, and realized that many people eat poorly because they lack access to healthy, fresh, affordable food.

Today Somashekara works with the Philadelphia Horticultural Society, a community gardening initiative that specializes in sustainable food practices. He and his partner Lisa Mosca implemented City Harvest, a program that feeds 1,000 families a week from local gardening projects, and the Roots to Re-entry program, which places ex-offenders in landscaping jobs.

“We have to reorient people’s understanding of food production and agriculture—show them that it doesn’t have to be brutal work that ruins your body,” says Somashekara.“It can be fun, empowering, and educational.”

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This article originally appeared in It's Your Body, the Fall 2012 issue of YES! Magazine.